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Posted by: kwflatbed



Shawn Huddleston/The Capital

Maryland's Mobile Command Vehicle is the largest of its kind in the nation.


VANESSA FRANKO
Courtesy of The Annapolis Capital

The new state police Mobile Incident Command Vehicle has a turbo-charged 600-horsepower diesel engine, a conference room and rooftop observation deck.

It's equipped with radar, satellite and microwave communication systems - plus a microwave oven and a coffee maker to keep its operators awake.

At its unveiling in Annapolis yesterday, the vehicle's many amenities even prompted Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to ask, "Does it fly?"

It may not have wings, but the $1.15 million, 56-foot-long unit is the largest single-unit command vehicle in the country.

"It can literally replace a police station or a state police barrack," said Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, secretary of the Department of State Police.

Ready for manmade disasters, or natural ones, the command vehicle can come to the rescue of local law enforcement agencies by improving communication between them.

Department of Transportation Secretary Robert Flannigan said a recent tanker fire on Interstate 95 revealed communication troubles among various jurisdictions.

"This is the kind of facility that you want to be available at a scene like that," he said.

Col. Hutchins said the unit also is compatible with the national incident management system.

The vehicle will be stationed at the Waterloo Barrack in Jessup in Howard County. A cross between a tractor-trailer and a tour bus, it resembles a G.I. Joe supertoy.

There's a flat screen on the exterior, as well as a fold-out canopy for outdoor briefings with larger groups of people.

Inside, it still has that new car smell and is chock full of computers, sleek black-flecked counters and dark wood cabinets.

Kingsley Coach of Minnesota built the vehicle, and the onboard technology was put in by Bickford Industries in Chantilly, Va.

Paul C. Bickford said his company has supplied the technology for television station trucks for more than two decades. The Mobile Incident Command Vehicle is the third emergency management vehicle the company has produced. The other two are in Arlington and Loudoun counties in Virginia.

Several other communities are getting similar mobile command centers.

Last August, Anne Arundel County unveiled a similar vehicle, the 40-foot-long Mobile Command and Communications Unit built by Parole-based ARINC. The $820,000 vehicle was put to use almost immediately when county workers went to Louisiana to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

However, Mr. Flannigan said the state police vehicle is primarily for Marylanders.

"I hope we never have to use it," Col. Hutchins said.

Published July 13, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

Republished with permission of The Capital.

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Posted by: BLUE LINE

I wonder if Maryland is still number 1 ? Did anyone catch the news on the tunnel incident (ok stupid question I know,who hasn't), but when watching I happened to see the huge new Mass State Police tractor trailer Command Post, with the pop out sides and all, WOW what a unit, I bet that cost a few bucks. I sure am glad to see them get it rather than one of the political (you know who) depts. get it, even though some of them already have one.

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Posted by: AFCOP

[quote=kwflatbed]


Have fun driving that around narrow city streets... A tractor and trailer might have been a better option...

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